The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1887-10-22
BILL CAppELLER's BOOMERANG.
Forgery and Fraud Perpetrated BY
The Republican State Executive
:. Committee.
Foraker Compelled to Admit that
Tho !spsoial Land Message
Circulated by the Demo-
oratio Party 10 Genuine.
Forced to Confess that His Own
Committee 10 Circulating q.
Doctored Edition Of the
Damaging Document.

When the Republican Campaign
Committee, the working members o
which draw their salaries regularly ou
of the State treasury, woke up to the
fact that the now celebrated special
land message OF Governor Foraker lin
which he advocated a revaluation of ali
real property at once, for the purpose ol
increasing the tax duplicate), was Great
ing q profound sensation among the
farmers Of the State, they concocted a
scheme to have the reprint of tho mes.
sage, which the Democratic Committee
is circulating, denounced by all the Re.
publican organs as q forgery and a
fraud. Thereupon demoniacal howl
was set up all over the State, and for q
brief season (very brieD nothing but
shrieks Of fraud and forgery" was
heard in the land. Then suddenly
there was great silence. It was the
consequence of the following dispatch
sent to the Cincinnati Enquirer by it's
correspondent, Mr.. w. A. Taylor:
"V1NroN, O., Sept. 22.-In coming
down on the Hooking Valley train this
morning with Governor Foraker, I
showed him copy of his special mes
sage which the Democratic Executive
Committee is sending out, and asked
him to point out wherein it was forged
or garbled. i have two or three edi-
tions of it, said the Governor. They
are accurate, and are NOT FoRGERIEs AT
| ALL.
Then why this charge of forgery and
garbling?'
What we complain of is that it was
not published in full in the Democratic
papers. ] have received copies of
Democratic papers with all the message
lett out except that part which relates
to real estate
well, to publish extracts from the
message is not to forge, is it?'
NO. but it is garbling it and distort-
ing its meaning by not publishing the
whole
But editors themselves publish such
parts as suits them
we are of the opinion that the COM
mittee send it out in this form for pub
lication.'
4 can assure you that it is sent out in
the form in which you see it here.'
1T seems strange, then, that the
Democratic papers should publish it in
different FORM
But this document is not . forgery or
falsification, is it?'
4 mo, THIS Is AN ACCURATE COPY
THAT is the document, and none other
In any form is being sent out.
trNEn O1,,ll E,,l vSHkhSvn~
more to say against it,
F., This, OF course, knocked the idiotic
trick of Mr.. Cappeller and his worthy
associates endwise. There was nothing
to be said, and they said nothing. They
continued to draw their salaries from
the State treasury, while devoting their
whole time to running Mr.. Fofaker's
campaign. But new surprise awaited
them and the public. Mr.. Taylor was
still on their track, as will be seen from
the following dispatch to the Enquirer
"CoLrMprs, o., Sept. 26.-Last week
tho Republican organs and Mr.. Cappel
Ter raised a hue and cry that the Demo
cratic Committee was sending out a
forged special message Of the Governor.
That matter was settled very conclu-
sively by Governor Foraker himself,
who on the cars between this city and
Vnton, with the message before him,
pronounced it an accurate, true and
authentic copy of his special message to
the Legislature OF the 9Th of April, 1866.
az have discovered, however, that
THERE HAS BEEN SUBSTANTIAL FORGERY
COMMITTED WITH REFERENCE TO THAT
SPECIAL MESSAGE, AND THAT BY THE RE-
PUBLICAN MANAGERS THEMSELVES. An
ingenious contraction was prepared
which purported to be the special mes
sage, and was published in the STATE
Journal and Cleveland Leader and other
organs, and sent out in boiler plate,
which pretended, among other things,
that Governor Foraker used the follow
ing language:
''The last decennial appraisement OF
real estate was had at a period of great
prosperity. 1t was q time OF general
high values. Since then there has been
q heavy decline. Farm property is
from % to so per cent. cheaper to-day
than it was then. Tho consequence is
that farming lands OF the State, where
they have not been affected by the
growth OF cities or other development,
are now taxed on the average more
nearly at their full value in money than
any other class OF property. In fact,
the farm lands OF some of the counties
are taxed at even more than they could
be sold for
"When Governor Foraker was asked
II any such language as this occurs any
where in his special message OF April 9,
1885, he replied promptly:
"'IT DOES NoT.'
"Any Republican correspondent who
will take the trouble to call ON the
Governor and ask him whether the
foregoing is a part OF his special message
OF April 8, 1883, will receive the same
kind Of reply, with probably an ex-
tenuation for the attempted fraud OF
the Republican managers, WhO appear to
be driten 10 The last ditch Of desperation.
"Now that Governor Foraker has
pronounced the document sent out by
the Democratic Committee an authentic
and reliable copy OF his special message,
and the one sent out by the Republican
managers 10 fraud, il not bold and
absolute forgery, that question is
settled. What Governor Foraker did
say, and what he says he said in hi
special message ON this precise subs
"Ths valuation Of real estate rarely
sxceeds 76 per cent, and ranges down
ward from that point q low ~ 20 POI
cent. of its true value, while personal
property 10 valued all the way from lis
true vslus down to nothing. In fact
tho great majority OF the personal
property Of the State 10 not returned,
hut entirely and fraudulently withheld
from taxation.